Dosmo

Yep, ditch the WWW as soon as possible. This is a remarkably well-preserved, very uncommon wagon - a real time capsule. The interior is spectacular, with the exception being the tear/split area on the passenger rear seat. It might well bring something near the $20,000 mark to the right person. Nice to see a somewhat oddball wagon in such great condition.

Exner was doing some great design work during these years. Unfortunately, his designs started trending in the opposite direction as the 1961 model year approached. Actually, I like the '61s and the plucked chicken '62s, but these '57s were just great. The Mopars of this era may not have had the greatest build quality, but their designs - my opinion only - were far ahead of the offerings from GM & Ford.

I owned a '55 with the same color, though it was a V8. Wow, did it have a lot of torque. Not much top end, but man, you could really pull a load with that truck. I think these are under-rated.

Plain? Agreed, no question. But, I think it's an interesting car for that very reason. I bought one of these in 1973, solid black with full wheel covers, narrow whitewalls, V8 automatic, power steering. It was a very nice driving, nice sized car, small for that era. Quite peppy and responsive. I'm curious as to how this one would compare performance-wise to the V8. Price is optimistic, in my opinion. I personally prefer the look of the blackwall tires and poverty caps to whitewalls and full wheel covers.

So true - neither of these relics is of particular interest to me, other than the fact that finding ones this old is happening so much less now. The Valiant/Lancer has been in this spot for at least a couple of years, while the ‘40s Dodge is a fairly new resident.

This is something that has started to change as I’ve gotten older, especially in a visual sense. The top-of-the-line series automobiles from the late ‘40s to the mid ‘60s intrigued me for many years. The higher the level of trim and options, the more interesting the car was for me. Not so much now. I find that lower-trim levels of just about any manufacturer catch my eye quicker than anything else. A ’49 Chevrolet business coupe, practically devoid of fender moldings and a spartan interior with the radio delete option? Yes. A ’53 Willys 4 door sedan equipped in about the same fashion? Bingo. Dog dish hubcaps. Inline six engine. A ’51 Buick Special with as few options as possible? This is something you don’t see every day or at every car show. Pickup trucks from the 40s-60s seem to be so popular as street rods today. I see so many of these, and they catch my eye from a good distance away. Occasionally, I’ll see one that has a somewhat subdued paint job with the dog dish hubcaps that so many wore in the era they were built. I love seeing those, but the majority of the time the vehicle is wearing some sort of totally inappropriate type of shiny spoked rim that I find appalling, and the paint job is a gaudy red or yellow that is painful to look at. But, that’s just me.

Wow, that original '34 coupe is one great looking car!

Also, a chunk of meatloaf, along with a photo of the actor Lloyd Bridges.

Like suchan points out, the "2nd owner" fails to rightly list the correct engine for his awesome Oldsmobile. I really like the car, although the color is not all that complimentary to the overall look. I'd bet the "2nd owner" hasn't owned it for very long at all. My grandfather owned an "88" series sedan from this same year - red body, white top. I realize the "98" is the top of the line series, but I'm thinking the shorter trunk on the "88" may offer a more proportionate profile.

Thanks, 55er. That makes sense. That makes me wonder about the ‘55 Chevrolet. Did non-power brake cars still have suspended pedals? I can’t recall seeing any Chevrolet car after 1954 that had pedals through the floor, but there may have been some.

Interesting that in 1957, the Pontiac brake pedal linkage was still routed through the floor, rather than suspended from the firewall. Was the same true of Buick and Oldsmobile? I’m thinking that 1958 was the year the pedal location changed. EDIT: Looks like maybe the upper series Oldsmobiles got suspended pedals in 1953, maybe late in the year Chevy got 'em in 1955 Cadillac, Buick & Pontiac - possibly upper series in 1956 You can find pictures of some 1953 Oldsmobiles with suspended, some without - same holds true with 1956 Cadillac, Buick & Pontiac. In those days, I guess Oldsmobile led the GM pack when it came to modern innovations.

“Won’t last long” - some people might interpret that in a different manner than the seller intended. My mother purchased a new ‘77 Espirit and kept it many years after she could no longer drive. It looked great, but I always thought it was poorly put together. Rattles, steering wander, poor quality paint…. These are quite popular, but I’m not a fan.

Wonder if the reverse lights on the Special model might be different from the Roadmaster & Super? A little Googling suggests that this might be the case.

I love the look of that car - great save!

I’ve never seen brake & clutch pedals like these in a Dodge of this era. The type I’m accustomed to seeing are sort of oval-shaped. I guess the pedals are original to this car, but I’m really curious about this. EDIT: I wonder if this Dodge might be equipped with Fluid Drive, or whatever the Dodge variant would have been called. Would these larger pedals be standard if that was the case? I know that the Chryslers of this era had a squarish clutch like this with the words "Safety-Clutch" embossed on the pedal.

I had the opportunity to drive a friend's brand new '73 LeMans quite a bit. We took it to the Daytona Speed Week in 1975. I drove most of the way back, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the car ran and handled. I believe it had a 350/automatic combination. The coupe was black with red interior that I suspect was a sort of vinyl, rather than leather. I like this Grand Am. A slightly more aggressive-looking nose than on the LeMans, this seemed to be somewhat of an uncommon car, even more than 30 years ago. I wouldn't touch a thing on the car, except maybe to lose the whitewall tars.

I wonder if it is a ‘52 with a ‘51 grille - front fender moldings are definitely for a ‘52. The hood emblem may also be particular to 1951, not sure.

For those who dare to be different - an interesting vehicle. Like JamesR, I'm unfamiliar with the pricing on these, but this car looks pretty solid.

I believe you've matched it up, all right. Thanks a bunch.

A photo that I've had in some old files is dated 1914, but I believe the touring car is several years later than that. I'd like to know, if possible, the year & make of this vehicle. All input appreciated.

I could not agree more. The Cougars of 1969-70 were not bad, but the 67-68s were in a league of their own.

The decorative stars would be correct only if this was a Star Chief - right?